This blog is about my life as a mother and nanna and about my great family.

Thursday, 18 December 2014

How St. Nicholas Became Santa Claus

In
the 16th Century in Europe, the stories and traditions about St.
Nicholas had become very unpopular.

But
someone had to deliver presents to children at Christmas, so in the
UK, he became 'Father Christmas', a character from old children's
stories; in France, he was then known as 'Père Nöel'; in Germany,
the 'Christ Kind'. In the early USA his name was 'Kris Kringle'.
Later, Dutch settlers in the USA took the old stories of St. Nicholas
with them and Kris Kringle became 'Sinterklaas' or as we now say
'Santa Claus'!

Many
countries, especially ones in Europe, celebrate St. Nicholas' Day on
6th December. In Holland and some other European Countries, children
leave clogs or shoes out to be filled with presents. They also
believe that if they leave some hay and carrots in their shoes for
Sinterklaas's horse, they will be left some sweets.

St.
Nicholas became popular again in the Victorian era when writers,
poets and artists rediscovered the old stories.

In
1823 the famous poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' or 'T'was the Night
before Christmas', was published. Dr Clement Clarke Moore later
claimed that he had written it for his children. However, some
scholars now believe that it was actually written by Henry
Livingston, Jr., who was a distant relative of Dr Moore's wife. The
poem describes eight reindeer and gives them their names. They became
really well known in the song 'Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer',
written in 1949. Do you know all eight names?

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